Advertising

Scouting Report

Presented by

Thursday, Nov 21, 2019 12:14 PM

3 key matchups to follow for Bills vs. Broncos | Scouting Report

Chris Brown

Bills Insider

3 KEY MATCHUPS TO FOLLOW

1. John Brown vs. Davontae Harris

Buffalo's top passing target currently leads the AFC among wide receivers with 817 yards in 10 games. Harris will have his hands full after having a tough go of it against Stefon Diggs last week. Denver subbed in cornerback Isaac Yiadom in his place in the second half.

2. Bills OTs vs. Von Miller

He usually lines up on the left side of Denver's formation, but Von Miller will flip from one side to the other which means both Cody Ford and Dion Dawkins will see time against the Broncos top pass rusher.

3. Tre'Davious White vs. Courtland Sutton

White has been holding down Buffalo's top cover assignments all season, but Sutton is a big target who has been delivering big plays. He had a pair of 40-plus yard pass plays last week and even threw a 38-yard completion on an option pass.

2 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE OPPONENT

Passing game focuses on two targets

Since the Broncos traded Emmanuel Sanders to San Francisco, Denver's passing game has relied heavily on Sutton and rookie tight end Noah Fant. Over the last two games, Fant and Sutton have been targeted a total of 32 times. The rest of the offensive skill players have been targeted 23 times combined. The two receiving threats have made nine of the team's last 14 plays of 20 yards or more.

Shelby Harris emerging

Denver's veteran defensive end is putting together a strong season. He's third on the team in sacks after posting a pair last week including a forced fumble. He's second on the team in pass breakups and fourth in tackles for loss. Harris isn't dominant, but he has good power to move linemen off the line of scrimmage and turn them.

This is a battle between Buffalo's third-ranked red zone offense and Denver's second-ranked red zone defense. If the Bills can be closer to their season success rate of reaching the end zone (68%) than the rate that the Broncos allow (41.4%) they should be able to put up win number eight on the season.

--For third-year QB Brandon Allen, it's been an up and down couple of weeks as the Broncos starter. After helping Denver stage a win over Cleveland with a steady performance in his first start with a 60 percent completion rate and a pair of TD passes, Allen came back down to Earth at Minnesota, completing just 46 percent of his passes with a TD and an interception.

--Allen's lack of experience is partly why Denver has gone three-and-out as an offense a good deal this season. The Broncos have the fourth-highest percentage of going three-and-out so far this season at almost 26 percent (25.7%).

--Seven of Denver's 10 games have been decided by eight points or less this season. The only problem is they've managed to win just two of them.

--Statistically, the Broncos pass defense is on par with that of Buffalo's. Denver ranks fifth in pass defense to Buffalo's third. They rank seventh in third down defense, right behind that Bills at sixth in the league. Denver has surrendered just 25 pass plays of 20 yards or more, while Buffalo has given up 21.

--That being said, Denver's defense did give up a 20-point lead as they struggled when Minnesota went up tempo in an effort to climb back into the game. The Vikings made it difficult for the Broncos to get lined up, let alone make substitutions as they scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. The Vkings' 27 total points came on their last four possessions, covering 75, 75, 62 and 67 yards.

--Denver lost fullback Andy Janovich this past week to a season-ending elbow injury. The club signed tight end Orson Charles to take his spot on the roster.

The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari.